American Civil War - Reconstruction Plan by President Johnson

Andrew Johnson took over as
president after Lincoln was assassinated. Johnson was a Democrat. He
was originally selected by the Republican party as the Vice President
candidate to run with Lincoln because Johnson was a Democrat who
supported Lincoln's ideas. The Republican party was hoping this
would get them some votes from Democrats.

Long before Lincoln was assassinated,
Lincoln had clashed with Congress over how the South should be
handled during reconstruction. Lincoln believed that a lenient
reconstruction was the best way to mend the wounds of the war. His
goal was to unite the states under one roof, not to punish the South
for the war. President Andrew Johnson believed he was following Lincoln's plan, basically carrying on in face of the tragedy of Lincoln's assassination.

The first thing Johnson did was issue a proclamation
of presidential pardons. This proclamation pardoned most Confederates for their
participation in the Civil War except for high ranking officers and high ranking
government officials who had to apply for a pardon. General Lee applied for a
pardon. He did not receive one in his lifetime. But following Lee's lead, other
generals and high ranking officials did apply and were granted pardons. More
than 7,000 pardons were issued by 1866, with more requests coming in daily. Some
Southerners who applied for pardons had already been elected to high government
offices in the South. For example, former Confederate General Humphreys received
his pardon 10 days after he became the governor of Mississippi.

In addition, Johnson's reconstruction policy allowed any Southern leader who had fought
in the war to return to Congress. He provided for new seats for
Southern states in Congress because freed slaves were counted as a
full man, not 3/5th of a man as originally counted prior to the 13th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Congress rejected Johnson's lenient plan. They denied Southerners entry
to Congress. They set
about establishing a series of laws to handle reconstruction in the
South. Their plan was much more harsh than Johnson's. Their actions are referred to as the Congressional
Reconstruction, some of which is detailed in the Reconstruction Act
of 1867. But Johnson did not give up. He, like Lincoln,
believed the best course for the country was to help the South recover by
allowing them to manage themselves.

Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that
replaced civilian government in the South with a military government. This act
designed by Congress to control government in the South and give power to the
enforcement of unpopular laws, like the 13th
Amendment. Congress overrode his veto.

Johnson vetoed an extention of time for the
Freedman's Bureau to operate. The Bureau was a temporary agency created in 1865
to help freed African-Americans transition to freedom. The Congress overrode his
veto, and time was extended.

And so the fight continued. Johnson was nearly impeached. It was very close.
When
impeachment did not work, the Republicans went after Johnson from another angle.
Congress passed two laws that restricted his power. One law stated that Johnson
was forbidden to give any orders to the military without permission of the
Senate. The other stated that Johnson could not remove any high-ranking
civilians in his administration without permission of the Senate. These laws
were probably unconstitutional, but by this time, the Republican majority in
Congress really did not care. If these rules had not already been revoked when
no longer needed, then the Supreme Court could rule them unconstitutional, but
by that time Andrew Johnson would no longer be president.